State Reception Hall, Chamkar Mon Compound

The State Reception Hall is among the largest structures in the elaborate and sprawling complex of buildings originally known as the Chamcarmon State Palace, which was designed by Vann Molyvann and inaugurated by French President Charles de Gaulle in 1966. The complex now functions as Cambodia’s national Senate.

Like much of the Chamcarmon complex, the State Reception Hall is defined by its roofline of repeated triangular concrete peaks. As well as visually linking the various buildings, the design also allows for ventilation of the roofing, and is a motif that is also found in numerous other buildings of the period, designed by Vann Molyvann and others. The State Reception Hall centers on an internal courtyard walled in circular concrete ventilation bricks which yield a gentle and dappled light. A peaked tower recalls the elongated vertical pitch of religious structures, but in a simplified and undecorated concrete form. External walls are clad in natural stone, which is offset by polished concrete columns.